Yes. At The Lakes Church, both men and women preach, teach, pastor, lead ministries and serve as Pastoral Leaders. Faithful Christians and churches reach different conclusions about this, and we hold our conviction with both passion and humility. You do not have to agree with us about every detail to be welcome here.
We reach this view by reading the difficult verses within the whole story of the Bible. Women and men are created in God’s image and share responsibility for his world. God raises up women in the Old Testament, Jesus welcomes women as disciples and entrusts them with announcing his resurrection, and the Holy Spirit gives gifts to women and men for the good of the church. Paul describes women praying and prophesying, and names women among his coworkers and leaders.
We take passages such as 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 seriously. We believe the restrictions addressed disorder and false teaching in particular churches, rather than establishing a permanent ban on every woman teaching or leading.
Women do not lead at The Lakes Church because men have decided to allow it. They lead because God has called and gifted them, and we want every person to use what God has given them for the good of the church.
If you have questions, you can ask us anything at https://thelakes.org.au/contact-us/